- "This was gathered in the Great Purge."
- ―The Armorer, to Din Djarin on the beskar he obtained
The Great Purge was an event in which the Galactic Empire came into conflict with the Mandalorians. The event resulted in the Empire gathering beskar and most of the Mandalorian people being killed, forcing the Tribe to operate in secrecy.
Contents
Prelude[edit | edit source]
Following the Siege of Mandalore fought at the end of the Clone Wars, which saw the deposing of the renegade Sith Lord Maul from his rule over Mandalore,[7] the Galactic Empire, using the Republic Military forces still stationed on the planet,[8] took control and launched a military occupation. However, when the appointed regent of Mandalore, Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, refused to obey Imperial rule, she lost her leadership position to Clan Saxon,[9] with former Shadow Collective super commando[7] Gar Saxon being installed as viceroy.[10] Controlling the population with fear[11] and their occupying forces, made up of troops ranging from standard Imperial stormtroopers to Mandalorians loyal to the Empire[9] known as Imperial Super Commandos,[12] the Empire ruled Mandalore and its houses and warrior clans for years.[10] Eventually, a student named Sabine Wren created a superweapon that targeted beskar known as the Arc Pulse Generator,[9] which the Empire turned against the Mandalorian people. Horrified by what she had done, Wren spoke out against the Empire, though her family and clan, Clan Wren, sided with the regime.[11] Before escaping Mandalore with her friend Ketsu Onyo,[13] Wren destroyed her weapon, though the Empire eventually managed to build a copy with a limited range.[9]
In 2 BBY,[14] Imperial rule of Mandalore was threatened when Wren,[10] having reclaimed the Darksaber, an ancient symbol of Mandalorian rule,[11] from Maul's lair in the abandoned Nightsister lair on Dathomir,[15] returned to her clan on Krownest with the Darksaber. Though Saxon also arrived and tried to take the blade for himself, Wren's mother, Ursa Wren, killed the viceroy to protect her daughter.[10] Clan Saxon and Clan Wren entered a civil war.[16] During a mission to Mandalore, Clan Wren united with Kryze and her clan. After they destroyed the copy of the ARC generator, which the replacement leader of Mandalore, Tiber Saxon, had hoped to use against the population, various Mandalorian clans united to form a Mandalorian resistance against the Empire. Kryze accepted leadership of this resistance movement, and Wren gifted her the Darksaber.[9]
The Purge[edit | edit source]
- "These were cast in an Imperial smelter. These are the spoils of the Great Purge. The reason why we live hidden like sand rats."
- ―Paz Vizsla on Imperial-forged beskar
Realizing they would never be able to control Mandalore and wanting to make sure no other faction did, the Empire instead launched[6] the so-called "Great Purge" against the Mandalorians.[3] Kryze and her people attempted to fight the Imperial effort,[6] but the purge nevertheless led to the near-total genocide of the Mandalorian people.[4] Some Mandalorians, including Kryze, survived the Purge and fled Mandalore, though they scattered across the galaxy.[6]
As spoils of their victory, the Empire gathered Mandalorian beskar[2] and cast the metal into Imperial ingots.[3] The purge was what forced the Mandalorian group known as the Tribe to operate in secrecy, even after the fall of the Empire[3] in 5 ABY.[17] Members of the Tribe came to believe that Mandalore was a cursed world, fearing that anyone who traveled there would be killed.[6]
Aftermath[edit | edit source]
- "Our secrecy is our survival. Our survival is our strength."
"Our strength was once in our numbers. Now we live in the shadows and only come above ground one at a time. Our world was shattered by the Empire, with whom this coward shares tables." - ―The Armorer and Paz Vizsla
Kryze continued to lead the Nite Owls, and together, with Axe Woves and Koska Reeves, went on missions with the intent of reclaiming Mandalore.[6]
By circa 9 ABY,[18] an Imperial remnant had quantities of beskar from the Great Purge, and used one piece as a down payment with the rest in a camtono for hiring the bounty hunter Din Djarin for a job. The Mandalorian later brought the down payment of beskar to the Armorer of the Tribe, who stated that it was gathered in the Great Purge.[2]
After the Mandalorian completed the job and gave the bounty to the Imperial remnant, he was fully paid with the rest of the beskar. When the Mandalorian brought the camtono of beskar back to the covert to give to the armorer, it captured the attention of the other Mandalorian warriors. There, Paz Vizsla confronted the Armorer and the Mandalorian, and spoke about how the beskar was cast in an Imperial smelter, and reminisced about how the Great Purge was the reason the Tribe was operating in secrecy like sand rats.[3]
The Armorer countered that their secrecy was their survival and their strength, to which Vizsla said that their strength was from their numbers, and now they were forced to go above ground one at a time. Vizsla then turned his attention to the Mandalorian, and continued to say that the Empire shattered their world and that the Mandalorian was in cooperation with them. Vizsla attacked the Mandalorian, although the confrontation was defused by the Armorer.[3]
While the Mandalorian was on a mission to rescue a prisoner with a team of mercenaries, the Devaronian Burg questioned why he was part of the team, to which fellow mercenary Migs Mayfeld replied the Mandalorians were believed to be the strongest warriors in the galaxy. Burg then asked why they had all died.[4]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
The Great Purge was first mentioned in Chapter 1 of the 2019 Disney+ television series The Mandalorian,[2] which aired on November 12, 2019.[19]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
The Mandalorian – "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" (First mentioned)- The Mandalorian – "Chapter 3: The Sin" (Mentioned only)
- The Mandalorian – "Chapter 6: The Prisoner" (Indirect mention only)
- The Mandalorian – "Chapter 7: The Reckoning" (Indirect mention only)
- The Mandalorian – "Chapter 8: Redemption" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian Junior Novel (Mentioned only)
- The Mandalorian – "Chapter 11: The Heiress" (Mentioned only)
- The Mandalorian – "Chapter 14: The Tragedy" (Mentioned only)
- The Mandalorian – "Chapter 16: The Rescue" (Indirect mention only)
Sources[edit | edit source]
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The Star Wars Book
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5
The Mandalorian – "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 The Mandalorian – "Chapter 3: The Sin"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The Mandalorian – "Chapter 6: The Prisoner"
- ↑ The Mandalorian – "Chapter 8: Redemption"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 The Mandalorian – "Chapter 11: The Heiress"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Shattered"
- ↑ Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Bo-Katan Kryze - 2020 Base Series 2)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Star Wars Rebels: Heroes of Mandalore
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Star Wars Rebels – "Legacy of Mandalore"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Star Wars Rebels – "Trials of the Darksaber"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels – "Imperial Supercommandos"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels – "Blood Sisters"
- ↑ Dawn of Rebellion dates the events of Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow seventeen years after the end of the Clone Wars, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 19 BBY; therefore, the events of Steps Into Shadow must take place in 2 BBY. According to Star Wars: On the Front Lines, Mon Mothma's denunciation of the Galactic Empire and the Declaration of the Rebel Alliance take place 2 years before the Battle of Yavin or 2 BBY. As "Legacy of Mandalore" is set between Steps Into Shadow and "Secret Cargo," the events of the episode must also take place in 2 BBY.
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels – "Visions and Voices"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels – "Zero Hour"
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ SWCC 2019: 9 Things We Learned from The Mandalorian Panel on StarWars.com (backup link) establishes that The Mandalorian is set about five years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 4 ABY. Therefore, the events of The Mandalorian must have taken place around 9 ABY.
- ↑ The Mandalorian Media Kit. Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved on February 3, 2020.
